Cole Swindell Earns High Praise from Scotty McCreery, Mitchell Tenpenny

Cole Swindell is earning high praise from two of his peers. Both Scotty McCreery and newcomer Mitchell Tenpenny credit Swindell's single, "Break Up in the End," as being one of the best songs of 2018.

"[I] got married this year, so this shouldn't be it, but to me Cole Swindell's 'Break Up in the End' was the most well-written song of the year," McCreery told ABC News Radio. "Like every time I heard it, I'd look at Gabi and go 'That is just well written!' So I think it's a good song."

"Man, I like 'Break Up in the End,'" added Tenpenny. "I think it's a great song. Just the story of that; I've felt that emotion. I believed every word coming from Cole on that. I thought it was just a really good song."

"Break Up in the End" is from Swindell's latest All of It album, and is one of only a few that he didn't write on the record. Although he is proud of the finished product, Swindell also praised both McCreery's and Tenpenney's hits in the last year.

"I think about Scotty's 'Five More Minutes,' Mitchell's 'Drunk Me,'" Swindell said. "I mean, I literally would have loved to have had either one of those songs."

"You want the fans to love it," he continued, "but when the people that are in the same business respect songs you record – especially recording outside songs that maybe you didn't write, that's how much I believe in our songwriters and our community. So for Scotty and Mitchell to say that, I'm a huge fan of them."

"Break Up in the End" became the Georgia native's eighth No. 1 single, which he still can't quite believe.

"That doesn't happen without a lot of support, and a lot of help," Swindell said. "This was my first one that I didn't write, so I'm so excited for the songwriters of this song, Jessie Jo Dillon, Jon Nite, Chase McGill ... I know this song is special to them, and to see it reach the top of the charts was special."

Emotional songs like "Break Up in the End" remind Swindell of why he fell in love with country music in the first place.

"The first time I heard it, I knew I had to record it – that, and I wish I had written it," explained the singer. "I did write some on this album, but it's hard when you're on tour; back when I was a writer only, I wrote every single day. I knew going into this album that, hopefully, after the success we've had, we were going to be able to get our hands on some songs that, beforehand, we wouldn't have had a shot at."

"So while it was tough to see some of my songs not make the album, I am also really aware of how great the songwriters are in this town," he added. "Being able to rely on them is awesome."

Download "Break Up in the End" on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Getty images / Rick Kern